Go into this for the effects and you won't be disappointed

Rating: 2/10 (26 May 2014)

Unfortunately, if you expect anything more than special effects you'll be sadly disappointed.
The film starts by giving a good insight into the state of the world at the time, constantly assailed by monsters, but sadly this doesn't really develop at all over the course of the film. It had the potential to be a developing idea, but failed to do so.
The acting was wooden throughout, with only Idris Elba giving what could be called as a passable performance. The two scientists, played by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman, were quite possibly the most annoying characters I've seen in a film. Charlie Day seemed incapable of moderating the tone of his voice, such that every single line was shouted in an annoying nasal whine to the extent I was rooting for the monsters. Burn Gorman on the other hand just managed to make a character so grating that I zoned out whenever he was on screen. Unfortunately, it is not just Charlie Day who needed to shout every line, but every character, meaning that any emotion that should be present in a scene was lost to a constant shout.
This brings me onto the character development. There is none. The middle 45 minutes really wants you to try and identify with the characters, and they do try, but unfortunately he script writing is so bland and predictable that you cannot engage with them in the slightest. At no point did I become attached to a character, or feel inspired by a speech.
Finally, the effects. Whilst the film is terrible, the effects were fantastic. There were some stunning scenes in which the robots (Jaegers) looked utterly titanic and the monsters (Kaiju) utterly gargantuan. However, they were generic - there was nothing especially inspired about their design.
Overall, good visual effects, terrible script, direction, character development and acting.